The Thing About Family
by sweet-and-simple
Summary: Gaara needs to stop running away and face the facts.  He's needed, even if he has no clue what to do.  GaaLee mpreg


There was something about approaching an irate, newly demonized man that would put anyone on edge. Temari took to the task with surprising ease. Then again, that irate, newly demonized man was her kazekage, her leader and boss… her baby brother.

She didn't so much knock on the kazekage's door as she slammed the door open and strolled right in. "Sooo…" she began what would be an awkward, uncomfortable conversation, "you want to talk about it?"

Her little brother, not really so little anymore, carefully got to his feet and walked around her out the door.

She looked out the sequence of portholes lining the office. The village was hidden behind a raging sandstorm. "Gaara… You're going to have to deal with this sooner than later."

~::~

Kankuro was not so forward with his approach. He didn't rush onto the roof, geared up in protective wear against the desert storm. He crawled, all senses narrowed in search for a chakra signature, and tried to identify anyone standing in the hail of desert soil. He honestly couldn't see a thing.

Fuck his luck.

But he tried anyway because, meh, this was his baby brother. And he, despite his childhood spent with a boy he had been taught to treat like a monster, was going to do all he could do for the tyke… who wasn't so much of a tyke anymore, was he?

Nope. His baby brother was all grown up, kazekage of their village, their leader, the same man who had died for them and who they brought back to life just to have him around. _That's_ love.

He loved his baby brother. So if he had to brave a sandstorm to get to him, he'd do it. More than once at that.

Found him!

He scurried across the rough, sloping roof, reaching out his hand to grasp… well, something. He was hoping for an ankle, but he'd go for a calf. Or a robe. A hand? Yeah, he'd settle for anything.

Except he didn't grab anything.

He blinked into the sudden brightness of the afternoon, errant wisps of sand swirling unbidden to the ground and whispers of a dead storm fading away.

His baby brother was gone.

He growled through his mask. "Damn it!"

~::~

It took three days to get to Sunagakure…

So what? It took another freaking _five_ days before he got hold of Gaara!

Naruto was reasonably pissed about that. Seventeen attempts to speak to the kage and he couldn't even get a word in edgewise!

"Hey, Gaara – DON'T –"

"GAARA, STAY STILL – FUCK!"

"YOU BROW-LESS BASTARD, I'M GOING TO –"

"Hey, Gaara~ I've got something you want~ Wait, wait, don't – FUCK!"

"YOU COWARD! STOP RUNNING AWAY! …"

Get the idea?

But he had the little fucker now!

He wheezed for breath, almost too exhausted to take actual pride in that. Sure, he had Gaara pinned down, but the North wall was down for the count and he hurt… well, everywhere! Gaara didn't look so hot himself, all bruised and bleeding and stuff.

If Naruto could get a look at himself, he would realize he looked just as bad if not a little better.

"So… You gonna talk to me about it?"

Gaara glared at him for a long moment before looking away. His pale, thin lips refused to speak.

Naruto snarled and threw his fist into the side of his face. "Start talking, you stubborn bastard! You're not handling the situation at all!"

Gaara stayed painfully silent, unaffected by Naruto's abuse… for once.

"Y'know, you're not the only one affected by this. You're really not! Don't you understand? You think you're confused and scared – guess what? You're _not_. It's not fair that you're running around, being so damn selfish! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? GAARA!"

The redhead's eyes had finally found Naruto's with a hint of emotion. Surprise. Realization. And, yes, _fear_. "… I don't know what to do, Naruto."

The blonde snorted. "I don't think anyone does. But everyone's dealing with it better than you."

"How do you expect me to be? This was never something I pictured myself being a part of!" His breathing was erratic. His body shook under Naruto's weight. "I can't do this."

"You _can_ do this! I believe in you, man, like I always have! You became kazekage, didn't you? You've overcome so much, even _death_, for crying out loud! This is nothing, man. NOTHING!" He shook Gaara. "DO YOU GET IT?"

Gaara stared blindly past him. "… I don't get it. But I'll try."

Naruto smirked. "That's all I wanted to hear." He patted some sand off of Gaara, not that that made him any cleaner. "Ask Shukaku for some advice, alright? You two are getting along lately, I'm sure someone as old as him might have something helpful to say."

The redhead's expression turned dark. "It's because of him that this happened."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"… I don't know yet."

"You'll know it eventually."

"I can only hope."

~::~

History spoke for itself. Sabaku no Gaara, with his bloody past and his somewhat-treaty with the demon reinserted into his being that could end at any moment, should not be trusted with children.

A village was one thing. Paperwork was simple and maintaining inner-village peace was hardly so much a task as a privilege to him. Giving orders was a part of life and appeasing allied villages with their usually dull diplomats was a minor annoyance.

But no one had ever bothered to put their infant in his hands. Defending the young, he could do. Defending the elders and the young adults and the parents and the unruly genin was something he could do.

But could he raise a child? Gaara had been, for the past seven months, asking himself this while hiding behind business. He had taken it upon himself to complete diplomatic duties outside of his village, spending weeks at a time in different lands before he bothered to circulate back.

He could count in days how long he had spent in Sunagakure during this time.

Now was different, though. He had missed so much already and his own fear had controlled him for far too long.

That was why he stood in front of his own home, preparing to enter. He looked at it through new eyes, a blue-green gaze that realized that this hadn't been his home for a while now. He had to reclaim it. It and those who resided within it.

**I never took you for such a wimp.**

'_I won't listen to a word you say. This is your fault anyhow.'_

**You shouldn't sound so mad, little red! What, is this a _bad_ thing? Is it? Y'know, others would be blissed out of their minds if I was so giving to them!**

'_I have never been another.'_

**Touché, bitch. Now march right in there and get down to business! Before I do it for you.**

Shukaku had a point. Or at least a powerful enough threat.

He opened his front door, watching his hand reach out like it didn't even belong to him. It shouldn't, not when it was shaking so bad. He seemed to be shaking a lot lately.

The entranceway was empty.

The first level was empty.

He climbed the stairs and followed the melody of off-key humming.

His bedroom door was closed. He closed his eyes and his hand was cold as he pushed it open.

The voice stopped humming. "Gaara?"

Something gurgled.

Gaara prepared himself and hoped, prayed, begged the higher powers (and Shukaku) that he could handle this.

**Maybe not. You've always been a sucker under pressure.**

'_Shut. UP.'_

**Hey, you asked.**

'_You weren't supposed to answer.'_

**This stalling thing you've got going on right now? Give it a rest. We can all think of something better for you to do.**

Truth. It made Gaara want to roar.

"Gaara?"

He stole a deep breath, as if this would be the last time he would ever breathe, and opened his eyes.

"… You've grown your hair out."

His lover, his sweet, powerful, undefeatable lover, smiled blindingly at him. There was a hint of uncertainty there, some rage and a bit of pain. But that was to be expected. Gaara had left him alone this entire time to have him bear… _this_ alone.

"I was told by other mothers that children enjoy playing with hair for reasons unknown," his lover chirped lowly. Tension began to seep out of his shoulders. "I wanted Karushu-boo to have a wonderful, incredible, _youthful_ childhood!"

"… Karu…"

**Shu?**

"Yosh!" Lee whispered. "You were not here when I named him –" there, that flash of rage and pain in his impossibly dark eyes, in the tilt of his petal soft lips, "– so I decided to honor your mother for what she had given for you… and Shukaku-san for giving _us_ this gift."

**See? Someone's grateful at least.**

"Us?" Gaara croaked and then twitched, not familiar with his own voice.

Lee nodded. "Us." He picked a small bundle from the wad of blankets it had been coddled in. It was small, incredibly small, fitting in the length of Lee's two hands. "Gaara, would you like to meet Karushu-boo?"

Karushu, as Gaara learned while edging his way closer, almost like he was approaching an enemy stronger than him, was as small as he appeared. Smaller, even. He had Lee's dark skin and his sloping jaw. He slept like Lee, soundlessly and peacefully, as if nothing could wake him up. But his eyes were shaped like Gaara's and tufts of red hair clung stubbornly to his undeveloped skull.

"You can hold him," Lee breathed. "You can hold _our_ son."

He looked down at his own hands. They were so cold. They were still shaking. He couldn't be trusted to hold something so delicate, he would… yes. He would break it. He crossed his arms across his chest and clenched his hands into fists.

Lee's smile softened knowingly. He patted the bed next to him and Gaara sat down mechanically. "Would you like me to help you, _kazekage-sama_?" he teased.

Those eyes, that smile, the familiar chakra signal… Gaara slowly began to relax. Lee had proven himself to be dependable one time after another; both as a comrade, a friend, and his one love.

**Sappy bastard.**

'_You don't happen to mind.'_

**I throw up every time you get into this mood.**

'_No you don't.'_

**You just don't notice because _you_ never vomit.**

He opened his arms slowly, the tremors reaching into his very heart. He swallowed thickly. "I don't know if I can do this."

Lee placed himself in Gaara's embrace, his back to the redhead's front, and took his hands to grasp Karushu carefully around the cradle of his own coddling. "Never doubt yourself, Gaara!" Lee cheered. "Doubt will not bring anything good! You must believe that you can do this! YOSH!" He flushed guiltily as Karushu wriggled irately before settling back down. "I mean, _yosh_."

"I don't know what to do," Gaara lamented.

"Neither do I," Lee admitted. "But I find that there are many friends willing to help _us_ till we do."

'_He is incredibly strong…'_

**Yeah, we already knew that, boy genius.**

'_How is he mine?'_

**Good question. I don't have an answer, dumbass! Just accept it, he doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. You can thank me for that, you ungrateful little human…**

'… _Thank you.'_

… **Damn. Didn't actually think you _would_ thank me.**

'_I have to.'_ One arm slipped away to latch around Lee's waist. The other trailed through Karushu's thin hair and warmth tingled his fingertips. _'Because I'm… happy.'_

Lee turned his head and kissed him lightly at first. Months apart made the cinders of that single contact erupt like fire and Gaara couldn't control it.

**Kinky bastard. Tongue down the sow's throat and you're not even concerned about the kit? Bad boy.**

It was Gaara who had to break them apart. As he usually was. Lee had no self control, did he? But Gaara had learned the hard way.

Lee was panting when their mouths separated. They both were. But Lee smiled first, honestly smiled, and cuddled the drowsy Karushu to his chest. "I forgot to say, welcome home, Gaara!"

'_I'm months late…'_

**It's your fucking fault.**

'_But…'_ "I'm home, Lee." He feathered his thumb over Karushu's cheek, halfway shocked that he didn't crumble under his touch. "I'm home, my son."

~::~

Author's note: To AngelicRose29, who kindly asked for more Gaalee mpreg. This is for you, sweetheart!

Forgive me for any spelling errors… I was too lazy to proofread. Forgive me, AngelicRose29!


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